“I take one one one cause you left me and
Two two two for my family and
3 3 3 for my heartache and
4 4 4 for my headaches and
5 5 5 for my lonely and
6 6 6 for my sorrow and
7 7 for no tomorrow and
8 8 I forget what 8 was for and
9 9 9 for a lost God and
10 10 10 10 for everything
Everything everything everything”

-The Violent Femmes: “Kiss Off”

Please note: the mechanics here aren’t completely worked out. Unlike my previous post on point mechanics, there’s a lot here I know I still need to figure out.

The main reason that an addict indulges in an Obsession is simple: he is an addict. However, every addict has their own excuses for their behavior, and even when you’re on the road to recovery, there are weak spots– chinks in your armor which make recidivism look particularly enticing. The situations which cause temptation are called Triggers.

Most Triggers are personal, and depend on the type of Obsession your character has, and what the character’s background is. Someone struggling to stay clear of an abusive boyfriend might feel the urge to call him when their song comes on the radio; a bullemic might feel the desire to purge when they pass by someone thin on the street. Decide where your character is weakest; those are your Triggers.

There are a few Triggers which are universal to everyone: exhaustion, intense stress, being confronted with someone else who is engaging in your Obsession, being around someone close to you who is engaging in their own Obsession, and trying– but failing– to help someone out of their Obsession and into recovery. And, of course, when a Dependency lets you down– if a Dependency fails, you must keep calling on Dependencies until you succeed or run out of points.

While it makes sense to avoid your Triggers, not all of them are avoidable, and you can’t hide from life forever and expect to get well. Eventually there will be some sort of reward for facing your Triggers– possibly facing a Trigger once nullfies or weakens it.